Air France strik

One personal data point: KL flights are going out at about 110% of capacity. :):) Same with all DL flights in/out of AMS, though there is some inventory in J on some routes.

 

Have already collected two VDBs today, and might get a couple more tomorrow. At 600 Euros each, it's a nice day of not working. Personally, the strike can continue for as long time, or at least until my carry-on clothes need to be declared hazardous waste material.

 

Anyone on AF for the next few weeks should be actively looking at other alternatives. A couple of thoughts across the Atlantic include the obvious (KL and DL) and some others (AM, AZ, and UX!!) Be flexible and willing to take circuitous routings - better to get there than be insistent on non-stops/one-stops where inventory doesn't exist.

Here's a good one - I have a friend who has a friend who was scheduled JFK-NCE via CDG on AF. He ended up on Royal Air Maroc via Casablanca. That's a reroute that I doubt many people thought of!

The flight we have is San Francisco to Paris, AF 083 thru Paris, Oct 2, with a connection to Rome on AF/

We can't rebook with AF til the flight is cancelled. Flight status is announced 24 hrs in advance. This flight flew today, to Paris. Was cancelled on Thursday this week. We are flying next Thursday.

The lastest news on the strike is pilots are willing to return to work if AF brings in mediator, read this on the web, not AF web site.

Short of trying to buying a entirely new ticket at $2000+ each, don't see that we have any real options. We are retired folks, we don't have mileage priority on any airline, even though we are members of AF, AA, Delta..

We are booked on the Silhouette to leave Rome on Saturday, makes port stop in Messina Italy on Sunday, then Athens... 14 days cruise. I guess we could get on the ship in a later port if necessary.

We have a car service booked in Rome, the Hilton as well for one night.

This trip is a real mess... we have been lucky, never had anything like this in 30 years of travel.

The flight we have is San Francisco to Paris, AF 083 thru Paris, Oct 2, with a connection to Rome on AF/

 

Our fight is scheduled for Oct 2... There are lots of Delta flights, they will rebook us to Delta most likely. Not knowings is the part I don't like.

 

This is when you need to be proactive and come up with a list of possible itineraries that would work for you. Then, the minute you hear your flight is canceled, you are armed with the information you need. There will be lots of people who need to be rebooked, and the agent on the phone won't necessarily be looking for the best itinerary for you, rather they will just be trying to get you rebooked.

For Oct 2 I see Delta flights to CDG as follows: 1 each from DTW, JFK, MSP and CVG, and 2 from ATL. Start looking at connections that would get you from SFO to one of these gateways. Then look at flights that would get you from CDG to FCO. Since the AF situation is up in the air, I'd be looking at Alitalia flights for that, since you could go directly from CDG to FCO. You could also consider KLM flights that would connect CDG-AMS-FCO.

However, the easiest thing would be to try to get to Rome directly. Look for Delta connections that would go SFO to a DL gateway city to FCO and bypass CDG altogether.

Have already collected two VDBs today, and might get a couple more tomorrow. At 600 Euros each, it's a nice day of not working. Personally, the strike can continue for as long time, or at least until my carry-on clothes need to be declared hazardous waste material.

:D:D:D I am sure you could have some laundry done or buy some new underpants for 1200 Euros :D:D:D

This is when you need to be proactive and come up with a list of possible itineraries that would work for you. Then, the minute you hear your flight is canceled, you are armed with the information you need. There will be lots of people who need to be rebooked, and the agent on the phone won't necessarily be looking for the best itinerary for you, rather they will just be trying to get you rebooked.

For Oct 2 I see Delta flights to CDG as follows: 1 each from DTW, JFK, MSP and CVG, and 2 from ATL. Start looking at connections that would get you from SFO to one of these gateways. Then look at flights that would get you from CDG to FCO. Since the AF situation is up in the air, I'd be looking at Alitalia flights for that, since you could go directly from CDG to FCO. You could also consider KLM flights that would connect CDG-AMS-FCO.

However, the easiest thing would be to try to get to Rome directly. Look for Delta connections that would go SFO to a DL gateway city to FCO and bypass CDG altogether.

Thanks for the suggestions and effort you put to help. Called AF again this am, until they extend the strike notification beyond 9/30 we can't do anything. Once they do, we can call to try to rebook. I have id'd a number of Delta flights, all avoiding Paris, going direct to Rome. Will do some more reseach on options so that if and when the strike date is extended we can work on getting rebooked. Am also looking at options once the flight is cancelled... since then AF will put on other carriers/that accept their tickets, beyond Delta/KLM. Would love it - if a mediator was called in and pilots returned to work, there were more than a 12 flights out of SF with various connections cancelled today... just thinking about how many flyers are impacted around the world is mind bloggling... all trying to get somewhere...

Thanks for the suggestions and effort you put to help. Called AF again this am, until they extend the strike notification beyond 9/30 we can't do anything. Once they do, we can call to try to rebook. I have id'd a number of Delta flights, all avoiding Paris, going direct to Rome. Will do some more reseach on options so that if and when the strike date is extended we can work on getting rebooked. Am also looking at options once the flight is cancelled... since then AF will put on other carriers/that accept their tickets, beyond Delta/KLM. Would love it - if a mediator was called in and pilots returned to work, there were more than a 12 flights out of SF with various connections cancelled today... just thinking about how many flyers are impacted around the world is mind bloggling... all trying to get somewhere...

Some of those flights could still be part of the fall out from yesterdays ATC fiasco.

Encouraging news today, pilots and AF reached agreement. So think we will be okay on Thursday, but will keep checking AF web site for current flight status.

I also called Celebrity Cruises, even though we purchased our AF ticket directly - if we could not work something out with AF, Celebrity emergency air travel department would have provided assistance in helping us look for air to get us to the ship. That was good to know.

I also called Celebrity Cruises, even though we purchased our AF ticket directly - if we could not work something out with AF, Celebrity emergency air travel department would have provided assistance in helping us look for air to get us to the ship. That was good to know.

So....just exactly what did Celebrity say? "Provided assistance" could be as little as "well, here's the number for Air France" to as much as some kind of guaranteed rebooking. Or did they just leave it at that without specifics? My wager -- it was a canned script that promised nothing but left you with a warm and fuzzy.

Actually if our flight was during the strike time period or was cancelled, they would book another flight for us if we wanted them to do so. If we simply wanted to purchase another ticket they would do that as well.

Now you maybe right, maybe this was a canned script... but the impression I got is this is something they do all the time. They were more responsive than AF for sure.

I am hoping I don't have to test it out, will see what our flight status is later this week, if it is cancelled may need to do so.

Actually if our flight was during the strike time period or was cancelled, they would book another flight for us if we wanted them to do so. If we simply wanted to purchase another ticket they would do that as well.

If you mean they would work with you on your non-Celebrity purchased ticket and try to find a re-routing, I would be very surprised if they would do that. They didn't sell you that ticket and are making no money off of it, so I have difficulty believing they would go out on a limb on your behalf, and even more difficulty believing they could do a better job of it that AF, especially if you were already armed with the your own research and had flight numbers of the alternate routing you want.

As for purchased another ticket, you realize that would be a brand new last minute ticket. While I'm sure they might be willing to help with that (it's a new sale for them after all, wanna take a wild guess at how much they would charge for that brand new last minute ticket? :eek:

If you mean they would work with you on your non-Celebrity purchased ticket and try to find a re-routing, I would be very surprised if they would do that. They didn't sell you that ticket and are making no money off of it, so I have difficulty believing they would go out on a limb on your behalf, and even more difficulty believing they could do a better job of it that AF, especially if you were already armed with the your own research and had flight numbers of the alternate routing you want.

 

As for purchased another ticket, you realize that would be a brand new last minute ticket. While I'm sure they might be willing to help with that (it's a new sale for them after all, wanna take a wild guess at how much they would charge for that brand new last minute ticket? :eek:

Yes, Celebrity Emergency Air Department did say that they would help us get rebooked on our now Celebrity purchased ticket. I made it very clear we had purchased our ticket directly from AF. The staff person was very familiar with the AF situation, said it did not matter how we had purchased our original ticket. I was surprised too. Given the response I would not hesitate to ask for help if I needed it.

So far, it seems AF is getting back on track, got out 90% of their long haul flights today... I don't leave til Thursday, so watching the scheduling carefully.

Encouraging news today, pilots and AF reached agreement.

AFAIK, all that's happened is that after the company made a number of suggestions that were rejected by the pilots, the pilots unilaterally decided to stop the strike. Nothing's been agreed.

Hopefully this will be enough to allow you to fly as planned, but those who are looking forward to a final resolution of this dispute shouldn't hold their breath.

If you can access it, here's something from the New York Times:-

Air France, After Strike, Faces New Uncertainty

 

After a two-week pilots' strike that inconvenienced nearly a million passengers and caused Air France to lose an estimated 280 million euros, the airline was slowly returning to the skies on Monday.

 

It was unclear what the pilots had achieved from the strike, other than to delay severely the return to profitability for the French-Dutch parent company, Air France-KLM, and to curb the company’s ambitions for growth in Europe’s fiercely competitive regional market.

 

One outcome may be difficult negotiations in coming months over Air France-KLM’s plans to transform its modest low-cost subsidiary, Transavia, into a credible competitor to well-established rivals like Ryanair and easyJet.

 

Last week, Alexandre de Juniac, Air France-KLM’s French chief executive, said that management’s only major concession to the pilots — to limit Transavia’s growth mainly to the French market — had made him “sick at heart.”

 

Analysts say that the scaling back of the Transavia plan from the broader European expansion that the company had originally announced — the plan that provoked the strike — could undermine the long-term business case for the budget brand. And they predict that it could force Air France-KLM to rely more heavily on profits from its intercontinental and premium-class services, which are under siege from cash-rich Middle Eastern competitors that are eagerly expanding into Europe.

 

“The only thing the pilots seem to have achieved is to lose the company a lot of money,” said Chris Tarry, an independent airline consultant in London.

 

While the total financial costs of the strike are likely to take some weeks to tally, analysts said the group — which had been tantalizingly close to breaking even — would for 2014 almost certainly report a sixth consecutive year of losses.

 

...

Yes, Celebrity Emergency Air Department did say that they would help us get rebooked on our now Celebrity purchased ticket. I made it very clear we had purchased our ticket directly from AF. The staff person was very familiar with the AF situation, said it did not matter how we had purchased our original ticket. I was surprised too. Given the response I would not hesitate to ask for help if I needed it.

 

Well, all I can say is that if it comes to that I hope they follow through on what they told you. I'd still be very surprised though. And honestly, I'm not sure what the point would be of getting them involved.... you would call Celebrity, then have to wait for Celebrity to contact AF on your behalf, then wait for them to get back to you. Seems you could find a resolution a lot faster just calling AF yourself, armed with the type of information suggested earlier.

Well, all I can say is that if it comes to that I hope they follow through on what they told you. I'd still be very surprised though. And honestly, I'm not sure what the point would be of getting them involved.... you would call Celebrity, then have to wait for Celebrity to contact AF on your behalf, then wait for them to get back to you. Seems you could find a resolution a lot faster just calling AF yourself, armed with the type of information suggested earlier.

I get your point. Actually don't think it would be much different then working through a travel agent, which is what Celebrity Emergency Air Dept seems to be. If we needed to buy a new ticket, they might have a better deal, who knows. They certainly have more experience then I do in such situations.

I actually called Celebrity about boarding in Messina or Athens if we could not make Rome on Saturday. Like you I did not anticipate they would offer to help but they did.

At the very least it is good PR for them, they do have a vested interest in passengers making the ship, they don't make money on board if we don't make it. When I was looking at flights and seats available this past week, there was a point where I was thinking of simply staying home and forgetting the cruise. We have done the itinerary many times before and on Celebrity too. It is not a once in a lifetime trip for us.

As a leisure traveler, I don't have a lot of experience dealing with airline strikes and cancelled flight situations, thank goodness. Especially when the airline is waiting to cancel flights until 2 days prior to departure. When I was employed I worked for Uncle Sam, traveling on a govt ticket is entirely different.

Dealing with a cancelled flight and with an airline that is dealing with 1000s of others, I don't think it hurts to have another resource. So I welcomed Celebrity's support.

Looks like we will make the flight, Air France cancelled a lot of flights on Monday, so far today, all seem to be a go, of those starting in San FRancisco. I am still monitoring the situation until we board on Thursday.

I don't think any agreement has been reached.

 

AFAIK, all that's happened is that after the company made a number of suggestions that were rejected by the pilots, the pilots unilaterally decided to stop the strike. Nothing's been agreed.

 

Hopefully this will be enough to allow you to fly as planned, but those who are looking forward to a final resolution of this dispute shouldn't hold their breath.

 

If you can access it, here's something from the New York Times:-

Thanks, I stand corrected, poor choice of words, what I meant was the pilots agreed among themselves to return to work.